New Mexico school reopens, two days after shooting by 12-year-old

Two New Mexico State Police officers stand guard holding semiautomatic rifles outside the home of the alleged shooter at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, N.M.

Two New Mexico State Police officers stand guard holding semiautomatic rifles outside the home of the alleged shooter at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, N.M. (Pat Vasquez-Cunningham / AP)

Michael Muskal

The Berrendo Middle School reopened to students on Thursday morning about 48 hours after a 12-year-old pupil opened fire with a shotgun, seriously wounding two classmates in Roswell, N.M.

With grief counselors available, the district reopened the school to children, many of whom were in the gymnasium when the shooter entered and fired three rounds.

“The children who return tomorrow are not the children who arrived on Tuesday. They are different,” New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez told reporters on Wednesday.

School officials confirmed that the school had reopened. Educators have said that the community is relying on teachers to help the youngsters cope with the aftermath of the shooting.

“Our teachers tomorrow have a very, very difficult and stressful day coming,” Roswell Supt. Tom Burris said at a news conference Wednesday. “Tomorrow they will all be counselors. Every staff member is in there working to prepare the kids for tomorrow.”

The boy is being held at an "appropriate children's facility" in Albuquerque, 170 miles northwest of Roswell, according to the state police.

Late Wednesday, Chaves County prosecutors charged the boy as a juvenile with three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, all felonies.

The two injured students remained hospitalized in serious and critical condition in Lubbock, Texas.